Several Facebook users are circulating a video showing suitcases supposedly containing cash being transported as evidence to the claims of the 18 self-confessed bagmen of former representative Zaldy Co that they delivered huge amounts of money to politicians. This is false.
The video used in the post was from a repatriation flight for Filipinos in the United Arab Emirates last March.
On May 28, a Facebook account published a 25-second reel showing men arranging and moving some suitcases. The overlaid text in the clip read:
“Eto po ang tunay na video ng mga Pagde-deliver nnga male-maletang pera ng pera ng kaban ng bayan. Eto po ang ebidensya ng kanilang Pagnanakaw ng Pera ng bayan
(This is the real video of the delivery of suitcases filled with public funds. This is evidence of their theft of the people’s money).”
The clip was later stitched with a video of one of the men, who claimed to be former members of the Philippine Marines, speaking during a Senate hearing. This was posted by four other FB users on June 5 and 6, with the following superimposed text:
“Ngaun nyo sabihin na Fake ang lahat Ng sinasabi ng 18 marines
(Now tell me that everything the 18 Marines said is fake).”
A reverse image search reveals that the video was taken during a repatriation flight for Filipinos in the UAE. The original video, posted on March 13 by Dubai-based media outlet The Global Stories DXB, shows Consul General Ambrosio Brian Enciso III and other staff helping in loading the luggage of over 400 Filipinos repatriated from Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
A closer examination of the clip shows some of the men were wearing shirts printed with a logo similar to that of the Philippine Consulate General.
The false video surfaced following the resumption of the Senate probe into the flood control corruption scandal. The18 self-confessed bagmen of Co claimed they delivered suitcases of cash to lawmakers and other government officials. They appeared in the Cayetano-led hearing on June 4. They also went to the Senate on June 8 but did not attend the meeting presided by new Blue Ribbon Committee Chair Sen. Erwin Tulfo. Instead, they were hosted in the office of Sen. Robinhood Padilla where they held a press conference.
Published by FB pages NewsforAll (Aug. 11, 2016) and BNBNews & Public Affairs (Sept. 14, 2023) and three users, the clips collectively received over 3M views; 33,485 reactions; 22,685 comments; and 41,000 shares.
